Triathlon Training Resources

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Sweetwater Elementary 5K

I ran in the 3rd Annual Sweetwater Elementary 5K this past weekend and had a great time. I came in 2nd overall with a time of 20:11. The course was a bit long at 3.18 miles but they are never exact and everyone ran the same course so it was fine.

I am ready for the first triathlon of my season next Sunday. It is an olympic distance with a lake swim. I am very anxious to see how much I have improved over last year. I have put in a lot of work and my run times reflect that. My slowest 5K this year has been a 20:40 and all my others have been under 20:30 and a PR race of 19:39. I have built a decent bike base for the first time ever as well so I look forward to a good race this weekend.

Next month is Daytona Frogman and St. Anthony's is 2 weeks after that. I am looking at a busy race season and look forward to racing well and staying injury free.

I will post results with race reports as time permits.

Click here to visit Geek Publishers by Julian Dean

Tri Geek training plans offer all levels of triathlon training for all distances of triathlon. The plans are easy to follow for those who self coach and need the structured workouts written out for them. Check out the site and what they have to offer.

Suitable for all levels of fitness.

Prerequisite before starting the plans:

1. Able to Run 1-2 miles without stopping.
2. Able to Swim 100 yards without stopping.
3. Able to Bike comfortably for 30 mins.

Be 100% absolutely confident that you will finish your triathlon race in peak state and in peak performance when you commit to train and follow at least 80% of this triathlon training plan.

Features and benefits of a Triathlon Geek self-coaching training plan:

All plans include a nutritional guide for endurance athletes.

3 athletic levels of triathlon training per sport (Age Grouper, Elite and Pro Athletes).

Triathlon specific Weight training and Core Strength routines for power and muscular endurance.

Detailed triathlon workout plans each day.

Gradual Increase in intensity and distance to avoid injuries and over training.

Balanced approach to endurance triathlon training so you do not burn out.

Start your triathlon training today. Digital (Adobe PDF) triathlon training plan sent to you via email.

5 Key triathlon training phases to achieve a peak state on race day.

2 Active Recovery phases.

Suitable for all levels of fitness including beginners.

At-a-glance triathlon training plan - one page per week.

Workouts are easy to read and follow.

Time-Intensity grid for each training day - allowing you to mentally gauge how intense or long your workouts will take.

One Day off per week.

Swim, Bike and Run drills.

Triathlon workouts include Brick, Speed Work, Endurance and Power routines.

Longer workouts on the weekend and Shorter workouts on the weekday to balance work life commitments.

Metric system (km) plans for Australia, New Zealand, Canadian and European athletes or those who prefer to train in the metric system.

Click here to visit Geek Publishers by Julian Dean

Monday, January 31, 2011

2011 Daytona 5K

After an IT Band flare up I had to take 6 weeks off from running and was not sure what my running times would be when I returned. I have now been following the 6 days a week running plan for 9 weeks now.

I have (had) a 5K PR of 21:20 for the last 2 years and I just could not seem to get it lower. I ran the traditional triathlete way of 3-4 runs a week, with a couple days of intervals thrown in and a long run that was more than half my weekly mileage. I was always injured and just attributed it to being 38 and that I would just deal with it. My last 2 races though, I was close to the 20 min. mark but could not quite get there with a 20:31, and 20:40. After the 8 week base period, which I never did before, I added a tempo run in as one of my medium runs. I feel like my run form has improved tremendously and has made running much more enjoyable.

I raced the Daytona 5K this weekend at the Daytona Speedway, an awesome event if you are ever in town for this you have to do it, and came in at 19:39. I was 24th overall out of more than 1000 so it felt great. It was not the placing that felt the best, but the feeling that I was actually making improvements and the accomplishment of a 2011 goal, while still in January, that I was so proud of.

I am a believer now in a slower, not slow, training pace with a structured plan that over time will pay off. It is not an overnight thing when training to make improvements. I am so excited for this tri season and being able to be a little more competitive when I race (hopefully). I have built a base for my run and bike over the winter and as I start to pick up the training for the upcoming season, I feel like I am in better shape than I was at my best last year.

I will continue to update as I move into a heavier training load and get ready for tri season 2011.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

IT Band Problems and Triathlon Training **UPDATED**

1/13/2011

It has been a few months since my IT Band issues surfaced and I'm glad to report I think I'm on the better side of things now. I have been visiting the chiropractor once a week and doing more stretching than I thought was humanly possible. I have been back to running for the past 8 weeks, though at distances that range from only 2-5 miles at this point. I have been running 4-6 days a week at a more conservative pace and it has helped me greatly with my running form.

I now have a new 5K PR of 20:31 (not that it's that fast, but an improvement) and feel that in the next couple races, I will break the 20 min. mark. I am amazed that training at a slower pace but training every day has been so beneficial to me. It has greatly improved my form and I do most of my runs off the bike so I am getting more and more confident in my run for triathlon season. I have a couple olympic races that I have planned with St. Anthony's being the biggest. The other is a local race here in Daytona Beach, the Daytona Frogman. Frogman is 2 weeks before St. Anthony's so it will give me a good idea of what to expect at St. Anthony's.

I will update more often as my training progresses through the spring.


10/22/2010

Well I finally got my Plantar Fasciitis problems in check and now I'm having a minor (so far) problem with It Band on the other side. I was planning on my first full marathon next month and was up to 17 miles for my long run. I made the mistake of doing a hard speed workout with just one recovery day and I felt the pain near the end of the intervals. It was very slight so I actually forgot about it and tried to do an easy run the next day. Two miles into it and the pain was very noticeable. I walked home and iced it right away.

I went to see the chiropractor on Tuesday and she did some stretching and Graston and found some painful trigger points in my piriformis. I had a feeling it was something originating in my hip area because it had been a bit tender the last couple weeks. I have been stretching 2-3 times a day and icing as well. In the evenings, I do 30 minutes of yoga to really stretch things out. I have scrapped the full marathon as this week would be my 20 mile run and I am not willing to risk a worse injury that would put me out of my tri training for next season.

I will probably do the half marathon though, as I feel fit enough to cut my mileage back a bit before then and still be able to PR (I hope). I will try an easy run this weekend and probably get back on the bike. I want to start building my bike base back up as I have been focused purely on my run the last couple months.

I'm starting to plan out my race season next year. St. Anthony's will be on the list again. I have raced, if you can call it that, the last two years and two horrific races. I WILL redeem myself this year. I have a local olympic distance two weeks before St. Anthony's so I should have a good gauge at where I stand. I am focusing on St. Anthony's as my main early season race. The summer will be full of sprints so I plan to have a busy season.

I have to improve my swim this year. I slack every year and every year it costs me placings. When I'm racing my friends that are even on the bike and run but get a couple minutes on me during the swim,I have to hear it from them for the rest of the year. Friends suck sometimes. I'll keep things updated as I progress through the next few weeks.